History

The Rappahannock Juvenile Center (RJC) originally opened the fall of 1972 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Constructed to accommodate 21 beds and staff in a building of only 9,000 square feet, its entire history in Fredericksburg was plagued with overcrowding. After many months of design, a new dramatically improved Juvenile Center, located just 7 miles north in Stafford was built and opened in the fall of 2000. The new facility covers 59,000 square feet with an 80-bed capacity. It proudly serves the City of Fredericksburg, and counties of King George, Louisa, Madison, Orange, Spotsylvania, and Stafford.

Juveniles, officially referred to as Residents, are primarily placed in secure detention pending adjudication and disposition from a court with jurisdiction of the charges. Following disposition, a small percentage of Residents are detained pending transport to other correctional Centers or specialized Residential programs. In a limited number of cases, courts sentence juveniles to serve their time at RJC while receiving treatment from community-based programs.

Each Resident is assigned to one of ten single-occupancy cells located in each of eight units identified as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Fox, Golf, and Helo. Unit assignment is based on factors of age, physical size, and maturity level. In addition to secure housing and USDA nutrition-approved meals, RJC provides every Resident the essentials, i.e., clothing, shoes, undergarments, personal hygiene items, and between meal snacks. Unlike adult correction facilities, RJC does not have a “canteen” or “exchange” available to the Residents.